CHECKLISTS

Posted on June 1, 2018 by randscallawayffm

Timothy and Titus – Inconspicuous Leadership

1 Timothy 5 checklistI am a list maker…even in retirement from my secular work. For me, what doesn’t get listed, doesn’t get done. It is also very rewarding for me to check that item off the list when it is accomplished. The list has a progression of priorities. One task cannot happen until another task is completed. And so life goes with my lists guiding my behavior and productivity.

As I journal each morning in my conversational prayer with God, the Father, His Spirit guides me to make another list that helps me to mature and grow in Him. I am convicted of some of those “fruits of the Spirit” that I have not tended to or cultivated, have ignored or left undone. His Holy Spirit redirects my thoughts and helps me form a list of tasks that will help me improve my behavior. “Keep a close check on yourself”, writes Paul to Timothy. For me, that means to make a spiritual checklist that keeps me in close contact with the will and purpose of our Father, God and helps me to grow closer to Him.

We can do nothing of significance without God. I am convinced that He guides us to all things that are good for our growth and aid our learning about Him and how He works. Paul also gives Timothy sound advice about how to treat those whom God has called to lead with character traits with another list of how to lead. This list still applies to us today. The theme of this episode seems to be; Know God, Know Yourself, Know The Message, Know Your Audience. Our deeds, good and bad, will be evident. Be driven by God’s love in us.

1 Timothy 5, The Message

17-18 Give a bonus to leaders who do a good job, especially the ones who work hard at preaching and teaching. Scripture tells us, “Don’t muzzle a working ox” and “A worker deserves his pay.”

19 Don’t listen to a complaint against a leader that isn’t backed up by two or three responsible witnesses.

20 If anyone falls into sin, call that person on the carpet. Those who are inclined that way will know right off they can’t get by with it.

21-23 God and Jesus and angels all back me up in these instructions. Carry them out without favoritism, without taking sides. Don’t appoint people to church leadership positions too hastily. If a person is involved in some serious sins, you don’t want to become an unwitting accomplice. In any event, keep a close check on yourself. And don’t worry too much about what the critics will say. Go ahead and drink a little wine, for instance; it’s good for your digestion, good medicine for what ails you.

24-25 The sins of some people are blatant and march them right into court. The sins of others don’t show up until much later. The same with good deeds. Some you see right off, but none are hidden forever.

1 Timothy 5 check yourselfLEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE #6: Keep a Close Check on Yourself

Leadership Characteristics –

–Fully rely on God. Trust Him with all you are and all you have. We are His. All we have is His.
–Ask God “if there is anything offensive to you, cleanse me.” as the Psalmist prayed.
–Repent with a heart and mind not wanting to return to the old life.
–Look full into the face of Jesus, our Master, Lord and Savior with laser focus so we know what direction to take next.
–“Keep a close check on yourself.” Avoid, “he did it, I can, too” or “my sin is not as bad as his sin” or “everybody’s doing it” mentality.
–Ask God for wisdom, insight and understanding.
–Allow God’s transformation to continue in our lives.
–Ask God to make your lists of to BE and to DO. HE will prioritize your lists in ways you cannot imagine! Where He guides, He provides help all along the journey.
–Do all in a Spirit of love for God and others.
–Care enough to confront others with God’s love and concern for their spiritual well-being and growth.

Warning   The things on our spiritual check list can never be crossed off because we’ll be working on them our whole lives. By listing we are reminding ourselves of what we need to work on to “keep a close check” on our lives. It is only by The Atonement of Jesus Christ can we accomplish anything of eternal significance.

Dear Heavenly Father,
You have convinced me that we must do spiritual “business” with You each day to improve our being in You. Thank you for helping us on this journey. Thank you for Your Holy Spirit that points out things in our behavior that could cause us to crash…before crashing. Thank you for always being with us, guiding and directing, loving and protecting and challenging us to grow and bear Fruit. Continue to transform me. Transform your church. Transform the world through your church.
In Jesus Name, Amen

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GOD HEARS ALL WE PRAY AND KNOWS OUR HEARTS

Posted on October 6, 2026 by randscallawayffm

Have you ever thought—

When we were younger in the faith, not knowing how hard life can be as we begin our fresh new start with Jesus with a new positive outlook for living life with Jesus; our beings immediately are attacked and marred by our unbelieving friends who say and do things that hurt deeply.  Our new lives in Christ makes more sensitive to all that is bad as we seek the goodness of God.

Not knowing what to pray concerning these challenges; our hearts to break. Our words to God may feel awkward and may even sound weak and powerless, even vindictive as we grieve over the hurt our lost friends and family have dealt to us because they want us to return to being more like them. We seek justice because we know God can deliver it—but we seek justice in ways we think He should.  Hence, the awkwardness of our prayers.

But here’s the real truth of prayer:  The power of prayer is in the One who hears it and not the one who says it.  Our prayers DO make a difference.  For us and those who hurt us!  God listens to every word and knows our hearts with direction.  Perhaps this is why Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies who hurt us?

God wants us to hear from us and does not care about proper, churched words and phrases with fanciful words with an eloquent delivery!  He is looking at our hearts, so speak plainly from the heart and be honest.  Sincere, committed hearts are what God is looking over the earth to find—and help!  “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9

The Psalmist is awkwardly lamenting over the loss of Jerusalem to barbaric Babylon. It would be similar to hoodlums, thieves, and murderers coming into your church with torches and spears to kill everyone while setting fire to the building where we gather to worship God.  (In some parts of the world, this still occurs! Pray for the persecuted church!) Those barbarians did not kill, they took captive as their slaves.

Remember the “good ol days” of living in Jerusalem, the Psalmist wants justice—and prays honestly and sincerely to God for Him to act in the same ways the barbarians acted toward them.  That’s why the last verse shocks our senses but it is there because that is a description of what happened to God’s people who were taken into captivity and forced to march to Babylonia to be slaves—until God brought them out.

We understand then how we can get caught up in using the right prayer words which is confusing to hearts that have been devasted by life circumstances. In the middle of it all—remember!  Remember God knows and is already working on behalf of those who hearts are committed to Him.  It is completely okay to pour out our joys, fears, concerns, and requests using whatever words come to mind from hearts who long for His help and direction. He hears and will provide what we need with comfort for us—all because of His great love.

Psalm 137, The Message

1-3 Alongside Babylon’s rivers
    we sat on the banks; we cried and cried,
    remembering the good old days in Zion.
Alongside the quaking aspens
    we stacked our unplayed harps;
That’s where our captors demanded songs,
    sarcastic and mocking:
    “Sing us a happy Zion song!”

4-6 Oh, how could we ever sing God’s song
    in this wasteland?
If I ever forget you, Jerusalem,
    let my fingers wither and fall off like leaves.
Let my tongue swell and turn black
    if I fail to remember you,
If I fail, O dear Jerusalem,
    to honor you as my greatest.

7-9 God, remember those Edomites,
    and remember the ruin of Jerusalem,
That day they yelled out,
    “Wreck it, smash it to bits!”
And you, Babylonians—ravagers!
    A reward to whoever gets back at you
    for all you’ve done to us;
Yes, a reward to the one who grabs your babies
    and smashes their heads on the rocks!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

History tells us that Babylon was able to attack and seize power over Jerusalem because God’s people had failed to listen to Him, despite all the warnings from the prophets!  Sometimes our troubles and trials come from not paying attention to God’s warnings and signposts along the way to “guard our hearts”, “watch over our hearts”, “keep your eyes on Jesus”, with the direction to “have the mind of Christ”, “seeking God first” and letting the “peace of Christ rule our hearts”, so that we won’t fall into the temptations of evil.  Temptations are pretty easy to spot and incredibly easy to fall for when we feel we are invincible. 

Ways we can fall for temptations (all that is not of God);

  • We spend more time obtaining and worshiping our stuff more that we worship our God who provides all we need.
  • We look to others for recognition and praise instead of focusing all our praise on God.
  • We look right to left, seeking who to please in order to get what we want instead of looking up to God for direction with thoughts of pleasing Him alone.
  • We give all we have to obtain all we want; only to find at the end of day that Jesus is all we need.
  • We see what our neighbor posses and enjoys and decide we must have an even better model for all to see and envy.

There are many temptations begin small and grow larger until we eventually fall flat on our faces.  James gets right to the point concerning temptations of evil;

“Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.” James 1:13-15, MSG

Avoiding the daily temptations of this world begins with surrender to God with all that is within us, seeking His pleasing and perfect will for us. God does not hide His best for us but brings to Light all that is good from Him in hearts ready to receive Him.  Only God is Good.  Paul’s words to the Romans gives all of us practical ways to seek God first;

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”—Paul, Romans 12:1-2, MSG

“Seek God first”, says Jesus, and all these other things will be added to your lives! Those “other things” are the character traits of God we need to develop as children of God, created in the image of God! Often Jesus would leave the group of followers, to talk with the Father God.  As soon as Jesus heard from the Father, something significant would happen. “For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.”—Jesus, John 12:49

And concerning the Enemy, the prince of darkness in the world; “I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.”—Jesus, John 14:30-31

With Jesus as our Overcomer; Satan has no hold over us! In fact, Satan flees when believers are on their knees, praying in Jesus Name, for God’s will and direction!

To be like Jesus, we pray to the Father God, in Jesus Name, for “what’s next” with loving, trusting, joyful, obedient hearts;

This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!”—Romans 8:15-17

Lord,

Thank you for this psalm of lament that led us to the other side of your glory!  Lord, I give myself to you as an offering today. Mold and shape me, still, to be all you created my to be. I’m yours and I’m listening.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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REPETITION OF THE GOODNESS OF GOD!

Posted on October 5, 2026 by randscallawayffm

Higher than the mountains that I face
Stronger than the power of the grave
Constant in the trial and the change
One thing remains…

Your love never fails, never gives up
never runs out on me…

I have often heard the more senior participants in the church complain when a chorus is vigorously repeated for the congregation to sing in worship.  Most want a “one and done” song with a chorus to sing so they can sit back down and be comfy.  They wonder, and question out loud, why do we sing the words over and over again?  I know, I know!  (Picture me raising my hand to answer!  LOL)

Psalm 136 is a great example of why with a response chorus the congregation in on repeat!  It didn’t begin with the popular writings of choruses in our Maranatha days—It began centuries ago by those who led in worship in the Temple as a way to declare all that God has done and created for us!  What more can we say?  God’s love is the only response a human can give in return—”God’s love never quits”, or in the more familiar translation, “God’s love endures forever!” sums up the character of God!

Because GOD’s love never quits, never gives up on us and because God never sleeps and is always Present to help us in our time of need, the only response to a God who is repetitive in His goodness is to repetitively declare His goodness in worship to Him—over and over again!  It is the only response that fits the greatness and power of God’s  Love! 

If we truly stood and sang of His love every time He rescued, healed, provided a way out, overcame harsh circumstances with the beauty of His goodness there would not be enough time on earth to gratefully declare all He has done! 

“God, Your love indeed endures forever—your love never quits!”  This is way I stand in awe of you and forever will sing of the wonders of your love.  Your love was supremely demonstrated when while I was a mess, laying in my puddles of sin and shame; Christ died for me.  He died for you. Oh, Lord God, I’ve seen it, heard it over and over; your love never quits!

Then, because of God’s love, He raised Jesus Christ from death in victory over evil, defeating the one who seeks to destroy all relationships to God.  Jesus, God’s Son is our Overcomer of all things evil!  God responded with the bonus gift of eternal life to all who believe in Jesus!  His love endures forever indeed!

If that wasn’t enough; Jesus, after God’s resurrection power, appeared among his followers—to the women first with a command—go and tell the others, and they obeyed.  Soon Jesus was seen and heard by his followers—with the scars of war with evil still evident on his hands, side and feet three days later!  Yes, His love never quits—never gives up on us!

On and on and on and on it goes
It overwhelms and satisfies my soul
And I never, ever, have to be afraid
One thing remains…

Your love never fails, never gives up
never runs out on me…

In death, In life, I’m confident and
Covered by, the power of Your great love
My debt is paid, there’s nothing that
Can separate my heart from Your great love…because

Your love never fails, never gives up
never runs out on me…

(One Thing Remains, Written by Brian Johnson, Christa Black Gifford, Jeremy Riddle)

Psalm 136, The Message


1-3 Thank God! He deserves your thanks.
    His love never quits.
Thank the God of all gods,
    His love never quits.
Thank the Lord of all lords.
    His love never quits.

4-22 Thank the miracle-working God,
    His love never quits.
The God whose skill formed the cosmos,
    His love never quits.
The God who laid out earth on ocean foundations,
    His love never quits.
The God who filled the skies with light,
    His love never quits.
The sun to watch over the day,
    His love never quits.
Moon and stars as guardians of the night,
    His love never quits.

The God who struck down the Egyptian firstborn,
    His love never quits.
And rescued Israel from Egypt’s oppression,
    His love never quits.
Took Israel in hand with his powerful hand,
    His love never quits.
Split the Red Sea right in half,
    His love never quits.
Led Israel right through the middle,
    His love never quits.
Dumped Pharaoh and his army in the sea,
    His love never quits.
The God who marched his people through the desert,
    His love never quits.
Smashed huge kingdoms right and left,
    His love never quits.
Struck down the famous kings,
    His love never quits.
Struck Sihon the Amorite king,
    His love never quits.
Struck Og the Bashanite king,
    His love never quits.
Then distributed their land as booty,
    His love never quits.
Handed the land over to Israel.
    His love never quits.

23-26 God remembered us when we were down,
    His love never quits.
Rescued us from the trampling boot,
    His love never quits.
Takes care of everyone in time of need.
    His love never quits.
Thank God, who did it all!
    His love never quits!

Lord, God of all,

Thank you, thank you, thank you!  Your love never quits and endures forever.  I believe. Let the morning bring word of your unfailing love has been answered.  My response is to praise you all day long because I know whom I have believed—The One and Only whose love endures forever.  Help me to love like you love us.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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A CALL TO WORSHIP!

Posted on October 3, 2026 by randscallawayffm

The following psalm is a salvation-history hymn, led by Levite ministers.  The words are chanted and sung in ancient times, with the same heart of worship we all should have in response to all that God has done in, for, and through us—much like the emotion we would have singing “Great is Thy Faithfulness”!  God is One and Only One we worship with thanksgiving and praise. 

Worship of God is a “no manmade idol zone” of reverence and awe. Idols are not welcomed and are banned from our hearts to the heavens! God is the reason we gather with others to remember all He has done, is doing, and will do in our midst to worship Him with all that is in us.  Worship is also personal—a daily discipline in our relationship with God.  We come to Him in surrender daily with humbled reverence for our Lord, seeking Him first before beginning our day, because God knows all, is in all, and over all.  Only God can lead us to His pleasing, perfect will that will be His best for us.  May God lead us daily to all that He has prepared for us!  (Romans 12)

The words of the Psalmist are calling Israel to praise the Lord—the one true God: The Lord of all creation, Lord over all the nations, Israel’s Redeemer.  Today, God’s Holy Spirit speaks through this psalm still—calling us to humble ourselves before Him in grateful praise asking Him for His wisdom, insight, and understanding for this day in which we will rejoice and be glad, for He is our God. Our relationship made holy by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His Son.  Thank you, thank you, thank you God/Jesus/Holy Spirit.

Psalm 135, The Message

1-4 Hallelujah!
Praise the name of God,
    praise the works of God.
All you priests on duty in God’s temple,
    serving in the sacred halls of our God,
Shout “Hallelujah!” because God’s so good,
    sing anthems to his beautiful name.
And why? Because God chose Jacob,
    embraced Israel as a prize possession.

5-12 I, too, give witness to the greatness of God,
    our Lord, high above all other gods.
He does just as he pleases—
    however, wherever, whenever.
He makes the weather—clouds and thunder,
    lightning and rain, wind pouring out of the north.
He struck down the Egyptian firstborn,
    both human and animal firstborn.
He made Egypt sit up and take notice,
    confronted Pharaoh and his servants with miracles.
Yes, he struck down great nations,
    he slew mighty kings—
Sihon king of the Amorites, also Og of Bashan—
    every last one of the Canaanite kings!
Then he turned their land over to Israel,
    a gift of good land to his people.

13-18 God, your name is eternal,
    God, you’ll never be out-of-date.
God stands up for his people,
    God holds the hands of his people.
The gods of the godless nations are mere trinkets,
    made for quick sale in the markets:
Chiseled mouths that can’t talk,
    painted eyes that can’t see,
Carved ears that can’t hear—
    dead wood! cold metal!
Those who make and trust them
    become like them.

19-21 Family of Israel, bless God!
    Family of Aaron, bless God!
Family of Levi, bless God!
    You who fear God, bless God!
Oh, blessed be God of Zion,
    First Citizen of Jerusalem!
Hallelujah!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God provided a way for the redemption for sin with the same unconditional, never changing, relentless, compassionate love He gave faithfully to His people down through the ages—just like He still has for each one of us!  God’s way to atone for sin was the sacrifice of an unblemished, healthy, first born lamb to represent all sin and then be killed before becoming a burnt offering to the Lord.  This system by God was set in place and given to Moses, the leader chosen to lead God’s People them out of Egypt where they were held captive to serve the Pharoah as slaves to freedom in a land God promised to them.  They were told to never forget what God had done for them.  Therefore most psalms are prayers of lament for sin with praise for God who led them out to freedom from sin.  They are reminded to stay away from the worship of anyone or anything but God.  No idols for God’s people that have no power to help them in life.

Today, we do not need to offer a lamb, goat, dove, calf, or any other animal for the atonement of our sins.  God sent His Son to earth to teach, heal, seek the lost, with a compassion heart driven to retell the story of God and His love with ways to walk with God in freedom from sin.  Paul, saved by Jesus, then preached redemption with how to be saved through Jesus: “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 

Our God sent His One and Only Son to earth to die in our place, taking the punishment we deserve for our sins—all sin, once and for all.

But that’s not all!  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

What kind of love is this?  The Love of God. We can only know this love by knowing God.  Jesus willingly and obediently laid down His life for ours so that we may know God in relationship.  To be in a relationship with God, we must come to Jesus, our Advocate to God and repent of our sins in Jesus Name.  Jesus took all sin for all mankind upon our shoulders all so we could have full access to God, the Father in relationship with Him.

Jesus is the absolute answer to our sin problem that causes a chasm between God and us.  “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”—Jesus, John 14:6

This verse is the sum of the Good News Gospel!  All theology is explained in these few profound words of truth. Jesus does not teach a way to God, but rather proclaims He is the way to God.  Jesus reminds his disciples then (and to us now) that seeing him means seeing the Father, because the Father is in Jesus, and he is in the Father. For those who love and obey him, Jesus promises the Spirit, an “advocate” who will always stand by Christ’s people and live in them.

God/Jesus/Holy Spirit—Three-in-One!  All praise to the One who is in three persons—Blessed Trinity who saved us and set us free to enjoy a growing, intimate relationship with the God, the Creator of all!

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty

One in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity”

This Truth who is Jesus is why we sing praises to Him who has given all He had as a human on earth in sacrifice so that we who believe can live for eternity—in relationship with God!  We need only to believe, really believe that all God says and has done are really real.  Do you believe?

I pray now for all reading this right now to stop and consider all that God has done through Jesus to save us from ourselves and our sins with complete forgiveness—”as far as the east is from the west”— “our sins to be remembered no more”! 

Remember this chorus as a child?  Still true!

Gone, gone, gone, gone
Yes my sins are gone,
Now my soul is free
And in my heart’s a song;
Buried in the deepest sea
Yes, that’s good enough for me–
I shall live eternally
Praise God!
My sins are G-O-N-E gone!

“He [God] will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” ~ Micah 7:19, KJV

Lord,

Great is Your Faithfulness, indeed!  I believe and I will always sing of You!

Who would of thought
That long ago, so very far away
A little child would be born
And in a manger laid

And who would have thought
This little child
Was born the King of Kings
The Son of just a carpenter
But for whom the angels sing

 And who would have thought
That as He grew
And with other children played
This child with whom
They laughed and sang
Would die for them some day

And who would have thought
This little child
Could make a blind man see
Feed the hungry, make rich the poor
And set the sinner free



Oh, who would have thought
This little child,                                                                                      Was who the prophets said
Would take away the sins of man
And rise up from the dead…

Oh, I believe and I will always sing
This little child
He is the King of Kings


Many years have come and gone
Yet this world remains the same
Empires have been built and fallen
Only time has made a change

Nation against nation
Brother against brother
Men so filled with hatred
Killing one another

And over half the world is starving
While our banner of decency is torn
Debating over disarmament
Killing children before they’re born

And fools who march to win the right
To justify their sin
Oh, every nation that has fallen
Has fallen from within

Yet in the midst of this darkness
There is a hope, a light that burns
This little child, the King of Kings
Someday will return

And I believe and I will always sing
This little child is the King
And I believe and I will always sing
This little child
He is the King of kings


And who would have thought
This little child
Is who the prophets said
Will return to judge this world
The living and the dead

Oh, can’t you see
That long ago, so very far away
This little child our only hope
Was born a King that day

(This Little Child, by Scott Wesley Brown)In Jesus Name, for Your Glory, Amen

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TO THOSE WHO MINISTER IN HIS NAME

Posted on October 2, 2026 by randscallawayffm

It is forever good and oh so encouraging to the congregation when pastors and leaders (also human and fallible) stands with us to humbly demonstrate their love for God with pure joy in worship before going forward to speak God’s Word. A committed pastor, called and equipped by God, can’t wait to deliver what God has given to them.  We see it on their faces and in their body language as they worship.  They are excited because they have message full of truth that is helpful to them and will be helpful to us all—and they can’t wait to tell it! 

Our pastors’ confidence in God’s Word fills us with confidence as they speak.  Their prayers for us, humble us, as they praise and thank God for us.  A compassionate pastor’s prayer fills those listening and praying with God’s blessed assurance that we are all His children as we seek Him with all that is in us.  When we see Jesus in our leaders, we are reminded of our Hope of living eternally with God because of Jesus, His Son.  A trusted pastor knows Jesus personally, seeks justice, loves mercy, and walks humbly with God daily.  Want to encourage your pastor in their walk? When you see Jesus in him or her, tell them in affirming ways with love and truth!

A surrendered, committed pastor prays like Jesus prayed for those in His care with pleas for wisdom and Truth.  Here are perfect examples from Jesus who knew no sin, filled with compassion for His followers then and later, while giving all glory to God; 

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Then Jesus Prays for All Believers—

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,  that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”—Jesus, John 17:6-26

When elements of Jesus’ prayer are heard from praying, humbled leaders who give all glory to God—they are loved and trusted.

Pause to ponder;  So, we learn that pastors pray for those in their care; but do we as fellow sheep, pray for them as they lead us in Jesus Name? 

Psalm 134 demonstrates the power of prayer for the leaders chosen by God to serve in the Temple. The call to bless God possibly records a brief exchange between worshipers leaving the temple after the evening service and the Levites who kept watch through the night.  The “servants of God” are priests and Levites who ministered in the temple 24/7. Their evening duties included keeping the lampstand lit and the sacrifices burning, as well as guarding the gates.

Commentaries on this chapter tell us that though the people must disperse, the Lord’s praise continues at the temple.  Lifting the hands has long signified both praise and petition, symbolizing trust that God would fill empty hands with his blessings.  What a blessed thought with reminders of God’s provision!

Psalm 134, The Message

A song of ascents.


1-3 Come, bless God,
    all you servants of God!
You priests of God, posted to the nightwatch
    in God’s shrine,
Lift your praising hands to the Holy Place,
    and bless God.
In turn, may God of Zion bless you—
    God who made heaven and earth!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Praise God for our pastors and leaders! 

May we never forget to pray for those who are chosen, anointed, and led by God to faithfully lead us!

May God’s love in us guide our prayers for each other!

Lord,

Thank you for pastors and leaders chosen to guide us by Your Holy Spirit to all that is Truth.  Thank you for all the hours leaders give daily to hear from you then put your message into words about you so the congregations can understand and take in as food for our souls. May your message first permeate the hearts of those who will speak.  May all that is said and done bring you all the glory, honor, and praise!  Thank you, thank you, thank you! 

I thank God for our pastor and all the leaders who work tirelessly so that the world may know you with ways to follow you.

Help us all to love more like you every day.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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HOW BEAUTIFUL WHEN WE ALL GET ALONG!

Posted on October 1, 2026 by randscallawayffm

Randy and I raised three children.  Daughter, son, daughter, in that order.  The son was quiet which we soon learned to watch more closely rather than just listen for trouble when they were playing outside or inside.  He thought it great sport to instigate a war between his sisters, then sit back a watch.  We laugh about that, now.  For the most part they got along with each other and each other’s friends.  But when weariness set in or they were “hangry”, their attitudes toward each other, like all young children, would test the limits of all boundaries set by their parents with;

“Mom, she’s breathing on me!”  “Again.”

“Dad, she’s on my side on the car; clearly over the imaginary line of my personal space!”

“She took the biggest piece.” “And why are eating this again?”

“He just took his toys and left us with none.”

“She used my towel to clean dry up the spill!” 

“He said I was annoying, what does that mean?”

“I’m NOT at maximum comfort in this car.”

“Why do we have to take naps?” “Ugh.”  (Parents all know the litany of answers to that one!)

As believing parents we rely on the love of God in us along with His Holy Spirit’s power to parent our children from birth to adult. We don’t always get it right; but we keep trying to learn.  By the time they reach adulthood and on their own, we wish sometimes for a do-over because of all the lessons we learned in parenting our children. 

Believing parents teach, show and tell examples, and point them ever to what Jesus taught in Scripture so our young children with develop the skills it takes to get along not only with each other but as building blocks of character to relate to others on their journeys in life. 

Most times we see the fruits of teaching work beautifully; but there are times that the quarreling tests our abilities to reason. But as I look back, I remember the times when strangers would complement our kids on their behaviors with observing how well they got along with each other.  I do know this, they would, to this day as adults, come to the rescue for each other with no hesitation!  As adults, they still help each other in all kinds of ways—including moving families from one house to another.  Moving is the true test of love and care!  As a family, we have all helped each other move, clean, paint, mow, borrow cars when needed, pick up children or drop them off, without a second thought to our own agendas.  I thank God for our children and their spouses. I thank God for our grandchildren who have “inherited” the legacy of being helpers, not only within our family but for other families within their communities.  I thank God for Jesseca, Samuel, and Carrie.  I thank God for Randy who fathered well.

Psalm 133, The Message

A song of ascents. Of David.


1-3 How wonderful, how beautiful,
    when brothers and sisters get along!
It’s like costly anointing oil
    flowing down head and beard,
Flowing down Aaron’s beard,
    flowing down the collar of his priestly robes.
It’s like the dew on Mount Hermon
    flowing down the slopes of Zion.
Yes, that’s where God commands the blessing,
    ordains eternal life.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Many ask and ponder the big question of all people of all nations— “Why can’t we just get along?” God smiles as He watches the true unity of His children just like a parent sighs contentment and joy when their kids get along. But guess what, it’s not just about pleasing God or each other—it’s the peace that dwells in us when we set aside our own interests for the interests and agendas of others. (Like Jesus demonstrated, Philippians 2)

Where does this peace come from? The Prince of Peace is the Source of all peace.  God’s Word teaches;

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” –Apostle Paul to the church then and applicable to us now.  Romans 12:18

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” –Paul, Colossians 3:15

“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”—Jesus, The Source of Peace, John 14:25-27

The difference between Biblical peace versus worldly peace:

  • Worldly Peace: The world offers peace that depends on good luck, safety, or things going well. It can change or disappear fast when trouble starts.
  • Jesus’ Peace: His peace is a deep gift inside a person. His peace stays strong even when life is hard, scary, or sad.  He is our strength to maintain peace when we debate and disagree with others.  Jesus at the center is peace, the Prince of Peace, who maintains our peace when we call on His Name.

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 4:7, ESV

Sweet peace, the gift of God’s love, is the strength and wisdom we need to live in peace with each other.  We do not have to agree to love each other in Christ Jesus.  That is the beauty of surrendering and allowing the peace of Christ to rule our hearts, minds, and souls!

Finally, we must remain faithful to the Lord, and be united in Him.  The peace of Christ is meant to unite (not untie or divide) the Body of Christ, acting as an arbiter or governing principle in believers’ relationships.

Think about it—God made peace with us with blood of Jesus!

“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Colossians 1:19-20

THIS is the secret—

“For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.”—Colossians 1:27, NLT

Jesus, the Prince of Peace, lives in us who believe, repent, surrender, and follow in His Name for His Glory!

Lord,

Thank you for your psalms of conviction, correction, comfort, compassion, that compel us to love, honor, trust, and obey you with all that is in us—with the Help and Power of your Holy Spirit living in us!  We seek peace, your peace, to rule our hearts always.  It is your peace that is the most beautiful of all!

In Jesus Name, Amen

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A LEGACY OF PROMISES FULFILLED

Posted on September 30, 2026 by randscallawayffm

The Psalmist asks God to show His favor upon the reigning son of David and on the legacy David founded guided by God. David wanted so desperately to build God a place of worship to God in Zion. If fact, David swore an oath of promise to God that he would secure a dwelling place for the Lord and is remembered in this psalm.  The Lord promised that he would secure David’s dynasty, most closely associated with his throne. In this way, the Lord’s oath responds to David’s oath.

Theologically, as most psalms do, we read and remember God’s promises given to David. God’s promises were given to David with the ultimate purpose to save the world. God guided, protected, and provided for any descendant of David who kept the law of God. The “anointed one” includes any of David’s children, but it ultimately looks to the great Messiah, who would come from David’s line.  The Anointed Messiah is Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, the King of kings and Lord of lords!

Hold that thought as we read…

Psalm 132, The Message

A song of ascents.


1-5 O God, remember David,
    remember all his troubles!
And remember how he promised God,
    made a vow to the Strong God of Jacob,
“I’m not going home,
    and I’m not going to bed,
I’m not going to sleep,
    not even take time to rest,
Until I find a home for God,
    a house for the Strong God of Jacob.”

6-7 Remember how we got the news in Ephrathah,
    learned all about it at Jaar Meadows?
We shouted, “Let’s go to the shrine dedication!
    Let’s worship at God’s own footstool!”

8-10 Up, God, enjoy your new place of quiet repose,
    you and your mighty covenant ark;
Get your priests all dressed up in justice;
    prompt your worshipers to sing this prayer:
“Honor your servant David;
    don’t disdain your anointed one.”

11-18 God gave David his word,
    he won’t back out on this promise:
“One of your sons
    I will set on your throne;
If your sons stay true to my Covenant
    and learn to live the way I teach them,
Their sons will continue the line—
    always a son to sit on your throne.
Yes—I, God, chose Zion,
    the place I wanted for my shrine;
This will always be my home;
    this is what I want, and I’m here for good.
I’ll shower blessings on the pilgrims who come here,
    and give supper to those who arrive hungry;
I’ll dress my priests in salvation clothes;
    the holy people will sing their hearts out!
Oh, I’ll make the place radiant for David!
    I’ll fill it with light for my anointed!
I’ll dress his enemies in dirty rags,
    but I’ll make his crown sparkle with splendor.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

When we read and study God’s Word, we must always remember that most importantly this is God’s Story of Redemption describing His Legacy through His created to demonstrate his traits of unconditional love, mercy, and grace.  God’s Word to us is His legacy of who He is with how He faithfully He helps those who call on His Name. In fact, God is faithful even when we are not faithful to Him.  David is one of many examples.  God will keep His promises.

God’s Word is not a self-help book like the world places on book store shelves, gathering dust with the latest and greatest ways to correct the behaviors that are not working for us in our current environments and situations of life!  God’s Word is written by God to tell His story of Truth so that we might believe, repent of our sins, and live Truth.  God’s Holy Spirit guides to all Truth when we ask God for wisdom, insight and understand as we read His Word.  He is the One with the power to transform us by cleansing our hearts, renewing our minds, refreshing our souls, while restoring the joy of our relationship with Him through Jesus!  God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, all God in Three Persons all speak truth to us.  Trust in the One who never fails to speak Truth and always keeps His promises to be with us always.

The Word of God is written (as promised) on the hearts of those who believe and trust with surrender to God’s will and purpose.  God’s Word is written to be understood by hearts committed to God.  We “take to heart” all God says because He cannot lie; He only speaks Truth!  God used his prophets, disciples, apostles and other followers to tell who He is with what He desires to do in us because He loves us and wants to have a personal relationship with us! It’s all about God in us, working through us, to be all He created us to be with the bonus of eternal life filled with inexplicable joy and a perfect peace that only He can give to us as gifts of His character and being.  God is Spirit who desires to live in us.  Invite Him in!

God wants us to be more like Him in all His ways and His ways are perfect, righteous, and holy. We cannot be holy on our own.  To be holy we must seek Him for only He is holy.  It is God who has the desire to make us holy as we humbly walk with Him. That does not mean we are perfect but all who believe have full access to God who is perfect.  We discover that the more we walk and talk with God in a humbled, honest, and growing relationship with Him, the more we see ourselves becoming more like Him in His character.  We are transformed day by day by being in His Presence.

From the beginning, even before the Fall of Adam and Eve, God had a Plan to save us.  His Legacy of Salvation and Redemption was placed on the shoulders of His Son, Jesus.  Jesus willingly obeyed because of His love for all of us.

God desired to demonstrate His character of unconditional love, compassionate mercy, with unending grace to the world and inhabitants He created in person!  God’s Plan was to send the Messiah, meaning “one who saves”, as foretold by God’s prophets, into the world to seek the lost to show the Way back to God, the Truth about God, with the extreme gift of Eternal Life with God.  This Person was Jesus, God’s One and Only Son, who was sent from glory to earth to represent God as part of Himself, as “God in flesh”.  This is how John was inspired to describe this incarnation of God in Jesus, the Person of Truth;

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

“Don’t judge a book by its cover” we hear so often from librarians, or media specialists.  We also hear it said when are tempted to judge each other by how we look physically or behave emotionally without getting to know the real person from the inside out. Everyone is created by God with purpose.  Read that again.  Read it again until we believe it. Look at others with God’s eyes, wondering what God will do in and through them! Be aware, this might change our current way of thinking with assumptions and presumptions!

The Psalmist invites us to think more deliberately about how we cultivate memory of all God has done that leads us to nurture our hope in Jesus who is the Way, Truth, and Life. Both remembering and hope are necessary for those who seek to walk in the way of the Lord.

Lord,

Thank you for these words of truth that nurture our souls for it brings back all the memories of how you work diligently in our lives to make us whole and holy before you. Thank you for convicting us without condemning us, correcting us with your new fresh mercies, comforting us with your compassions that fail not, while compelling us to seek to love and live more like you in every way.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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HOPE AND WAIT WITH EXPECTATION OF GLORY!

Posted on September 29, 2026 by randscallawayffm

“But if we wait expectantly for things we have never seen, then we hope with true perseverance and eager anticipation.” Romans 8:25 The Voice

I am discovering, (although slowly), that hope and wait go together like pie and ice cream!  You can’t have one without the other!  Wait includes time for our expectations to rise for what we know God will do.  We just don’t know what or how He will do it!  Hope builds in the wait as we trust God to do what is best for us no matter the circumstances on our current journey. God always comes through on our behalf through trials and tests, at just the right time, as a testimony of His glorious work in us as we stand firm in our faith–all so that others will see His works in us—not for our glory but for His! 

Remember the Lazarus story? (Read the whole story in John 11) Lazarus, a very good friend, as were his sisters, Martha and Mary, to Jesus.  Jesus used to stay at his house when in the area.  Martha served while Mary sat at his feet, hanging on every word Jesus spoke.  While Jesus was away to “seek and to save the lost and heal the sick”, Lazarus fell gravely ill. Jesus was summoned to come heal him before death; but He chose to wait.  Jesus stayed where he was for two more days instead of going right away. He explained that the illness would bring glory to God. Why didn’t he drop everything in ministry to go heal his dear friend? Let us repeat what Jesus said to his concerned disciples with him—”Waiting will bring glory to God.”

Did the disciples fully understand? —probably not.  But we know from reading through the gospels that Jesus didn’t say or do anything powerfully significant without first consulting His Father in heaven—as we should.

“I only do and say what my Father tells me.”

As it turned out, Lazareth died before Jesus arrived.  Mary and Martha grieved for their brother deeply. In their grief, Marha looked at Jesus and said, “my brother would not have died if you would have been here”. (Ouch)  Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life”.  Did she understand?  Not completely.  She knew all who believed would be with God in heaven someday; but she didn’t know the full story—yet—of Jesus redeeming death and God’s resurrection of Jesus to life for eternity! Her only thought was of her brother who had died.

Mary, in her grief, just sobbed at Jesus’ feet.  Seeing their sorrow and the weeping crowd, Jesus was deeply moved and cried. This forms the shortest verse in the Bible: “Jesus wept”. (John 11:35) 

Jesus then went to work on behalf of this family but mainly for the purpose to declare the power and glory of God for all to see!  Jesus went to the tomb and ordered the stone in front be rolled away.  (A sign of things to come for his resurrection and life!)  Martha warned that after 4 days, the smell would be bad. But Jesus was not concerned about the physical—only the spiritual renewal of his dear friends and the crowd who watched—as the glory of God provided the miracle of life!  Remember what Jesus said days earlier?  “Waiting will bring glory to God.”

Jesus prayed out loud to God for all to hear so they would know that what was about to happen would be the glorious, miraculous work of God. Then, in hopeful expectation, Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”

Lazarus walked out of the tomb, still wrapped in strips of linen burial cloth. Jesus told the people to take off the grave clothes and let him go!  No longer bound by the things of this world, Lazarus was free to walk with Jesus once more on earth. Mary and Martha turned their grief into joy, praising God for resurrecting their brother. We can almost hear Martha order, “Get out the funeral casseroles and cakes and let the party of life begin!”

Many of the witnesses came to believe in Jesus after seeing this miracle. At the same time, it made the religious leaders angry and anxious, leading them to plot against Jesus’s life.  The miracle also prompted the chief priests and Pharisees to plot to kill Lazarus as well, because he was living proof of Jesus’s power as the proclaimed Son of God! 

There was no denying it—God’s was in control. God never gave up His authority but demonstrated His power and glory through the resurrection of Lazarus—and later Jesus, His Son. All in God’s perfect timing.  There is glory in the wait when God directs our path.

Psalm 131, The Message

A song of ascents. Of David.

God, I’m not trying to rule the roost,
    I don’t want to be king of the mountain.
I haven’t meddled where I have no business
    or fantasized grandiose plans.

2 I’ve kept my feet on the ground,
    I’ve cultivated a quiet heart.
Like a baby content in its mother’s arms,
    my soul is a baby content.

3 Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope.
    Hope now; hope always!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Prayerfully ponder; (Take a minute or two)

Do I wait with glorious expectation for what God will do in and through me?

Hope, waiting for the glorious expectation for God to act begins with the surrender of our will while seeking His “pleasing and perfect will.”  Hope with wait includes patience for His timing in all things, being still before the Lord in communion with Him, asking for His wisdom, along with a great deal of focused listening for Him.  (Romans 12 helps us)

The hope I sought used to include those things I asked God for and knew He could make happen if it was in His will.  But now in this season of my life, hope is connected strongly to peace—the peace and contentment I feel when I am just quiet and still before Him, knowing with full trust that God is sitting right here with me as I listen, waiting with expectant hope for Him.  I adore my Lord.  I adore watching Him work in all His glory all around and in me.  I love to give Him all the thanksgiving He deserves from a humbled grateful heart.  But my words are just not enough.

Like David sings, my heart also sings with the same content—like a child wrapped in her mother’s arms sitting on her lap. I hope and pray to see God’s glory at work daily and He answers in ways that I never dreamed!  God does it over and over because it is His glorious power I love to see all around me.  Most days, I cannot keep up with my consistent words of thanks and praise to equal His continuous glorious blessings of goodness that I see at work in and all around us! 

There is no one like our God! 

Our God is powerful yet personal. He created us to be in an intimate, personal, loving, growing relationship with Him.  What I described above is how I grew to love Him more and more each day.  He never gave up on me and I love being with Him.

And guess what—it’s not must me!  Everyone who calls on His Name will not only be saved for eternity but grows exponentially in an incredibly intimate loving relationship with the God of all Creation!  We stand in a healthy awe and fear of our Lord for all He has done, is doing and will do in our hope-filled lives as we wait expectantly!

ICYMI, Hope is associated closely with the action of wait. In the past, my waits seemed longer for me because I thought it was an exercise in doing nothing.  When I was much younger, working at full speed, giving God all I had, wanting tasks to be done yesterday so others could know Him more today, the word wait was hard to swallow. Over the years, I had to learn the value of hope with wait.  Now, with the powerful guidance of His Holy Spirit along with the same commitment to tell His story of redemption, the waits are growing sweeter as time goes by.  I learned to relax and let God.

Wait Time of being still in quiet adoration of my Lord, I fully realized the depth of the old hymn of my parents and grandparents; “And He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own…”  for I know Whom I have believed and I know fully that God walks with me and does indeed talk with me all day long. Sometimes I wake to the sound of His still small voice, whispering the solution of a problem or a blessed plan for resolution.  Sometimes God just reminds me to rejoice in the blessings He has already provided.  “…And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.”

There is no one like our God!

My heart contently wonders what is on the heart of God about all that concerns me about my family, friends, and those who enjoy working with the enemy. So, I resolutely pray while He works.  This is the peace of Christ living in all who believe, trust, hope, wait, and obey.

Lord,

Thank you for David’s song that reminds us of the song you put in our hearts.  Thank you for cleansing our hearts, removing all that does not belong, renewing our minds, helping us to wait with expectant hope, refreshing our souls with your new mercies for today, all while restoring the joy of your salvation at work within us.  What a mighty God you are!

In Jesus Name, Amen

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THE BUY BACK

Posted on September 28, 2026 by randscallawayffm

The background of Psalm 130 reminds us that God who was at the beginning, is now, and always will be, created each one of us.  He is the One and Only God we seek for forgiveness of our sins.  We know from Genesis, that God began with the creation of Adam and Eve.  Other humans were created from this union, all created in the image of our Creator. Nothing has changed in the method to birth the human race.  Only mankind has disrupted God’s plan created for our best. 

From the creation of Adam and Eve, God gave us the gift of decision making.  He gave Adam the choice of naming all the animals.  He gave both of them the choice to relate to Him.  Later, we learn that Adam and Eve were presented with the most important decision of all—to obey God or not.  Their relationship with God was at risk but they didn’t take time to consider the consequences of their decision. 

Adam and Eve were too distracted and craftily deceived as Satan manipulated their thinking with the temptation to “be as wise as God”.  A new feeling, not felt before in their relationship with God, was shame and humiliation.  Shame was birthed from their disobedience to God.  They no longer saw themselves as God saw them; holy and pure, made in His own image.  The prince of darkness, the Deceiver lied to them in ways that made them feel they could as wise as God, with superiority equal to God—their Creator!  He uses the same old, tired tricks today!  It’s all he has.  Evil’s powers are limited.  God’s power is not.

The result of listening and falling for the lies of the Destroyer is a broken relationship with God.  The Fall of Humanity began with the decision to disobey God. Since the Fall, many people have sought reconciliation with God through repentance of their sins.  Others seek validation for their disobedience of God by rationalizing their sins as “the devil made me do it,” or “everyone’s doing it”.  Others tend to rank their sins as being “not as bad as this guy or that guy.”  Jesus addressed these thoughts in His story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.  (See Luke 18:9-14)

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” —Paul, proclaiming The Salvation Plan of God to all who would believe. Romans 3:23-24

Why did Adam and Eve fall for the lie? (Read Genesis 3 for the whole story!)  God wanted and gave His best to them.  God desired to have this a loving, perfectly beautiful relationship with them. God enjoyed walking with Adam and Eve in the “cool of the evening” each day in the garden. God created a perfect home for Adam and Eve before He created them. Then God placed them in His perfectly created, beautifully growing garden of provision, made for the pleasure and sustenance.  He only had one command of them. “Don’t eat of this tree—the tree of Life”.

God’s enemy, the fallen angel who wanted to be God and take over and was kicked out of heaven decided he would go after what God had created, loved and was precious to God—Adam and Eve.  We can imagine evil disguising himself as a serpent, slinking and crawling into the forbidden tree, and then beckoning them to come and take a bite of the fruit. “Seriously Eve, it’s a talking serpent!  Adam, don’t fall for what he is saying!”, we want to say.  But we read on as the deceptive serpent tempted Eve first, convincing her that eating the fruit would make both of them be as wise like God.  Notice that evil is using the same tactics that got him kicked out of heaven! 

God’s only recourse for Adam and Eve’s disobedience was to kick them out of the Garden of Eden—The perfect place created by our Perfect God who loves us with His perfect love. The consequences of their decision to buy the lies of Satan, the Deceiver and Destroyer of all relationships, has severed the relationship God wanted to have with His created. 

Adam and Eve hit rock bottom before enjoying the fullness of their relationship with God in the place He had created for them to enjoy.  “You had one job—to avoid the tree of life like God ordered,” we might shout to Adam and Eve, until we too are tempted with distractions and fall for the insane lies of evil because of the seeds of arrogance that lie within us! We might question, (I did when I was much younger), why did God give them a choice, (free will)?  Doesn’t He know we will fail and fall?

Hold that thought…

Psalm 130, The Message

A song of ascents.

1-2 Help, God—I’ve hit rock bottom!
    Master, hear my cry for help!
Listen hard! Open your ears!
    Listen to my cries for mercy.

3-4 If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings,
    who would stand a chance?
As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit,
    and that’s why you’re worshiped.

5-6 I pray to God—my life a prayer—
    and wait for what he’ll say and do.
My life’s on the line before God, my Lord,
    waiting and watching till morning,
    waiting and watching till morning.

7-8 O Israel, wait and watch for God—
    with God’s arrival comes love,
    with God’s arrival comes generous redemption.
No doubt about it—he’ll redeem Israel,
    buy back Israel from captivity to sin.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Truth:  God loves us and wants us to love Him back because of our own desire to be with Him in relationship.  Our obedience to God is our measure of our love for God. 

This isn’t really that hard to understand how God thinks concerning His love and care for us. Loving relationships are our main desire with our kids—from birth through adult.  As parents, and later grandparents; we want our kids and grandkids, (anyone actually) to want to be with us as their choice.  We do not want them to come from a feeling obligation—how awkward is that? 

We desire the relationship with our beloved with the same desire God has for us. He wants to love us and demonstrates this love daily.  God also wants us to to love Him back, telling us to imitate the love Jesus showed for all when He came to earth.  This is real love that is not tainted by duty, manipulation, or commanded obligation—just pure love—the perfect love God has for each one of us.  We want them to decide to love us because they know we love them deeply and forever!

John, the “beloved disciple” of Jesus explains the love of God this way;

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” 1 John 4:7-12

God’s love is a love that “covers a multitude of sins” and “keeps no record of sins” against each other. God’s love is intimate and forever.  God’s love for us does not change and will never give up on us.  His desire is for us to love like Him! God gave us the proof of His love: “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Psalm 130 is a lament by one who knows that even though he is a sinner, the Lord hears his cry out of the depths. The Psalmist proclaims in his prayer to God, “As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that’s why you’re worshiped.” The Psalmist was so right!

God loved us so much that He also created a Buy Back Plan, from the beginning of creation, to rescue us from the Enemy we fall for and decide to follow instead of God.  Jesus came to seek and to save the lost; then became the One who paid the price for our redemption from sin.  He is the One God chose to give His life for ours.  Jesus willingly obeyed God with broken relationships with God on His mind. 

The cost to pay for sins of the world was the cost of a life who was sinless. Jesus knew the price that had to paid to “buy us back” from the master we chose to foolishly follow.  Jesus, our Redeemer said yes to bearing the beatings while enduring the humiliation and mocking.  Jesus silently listened to the false accusations brought up against Him.  With prayerful resolve, He then carried the cross He would nailed upon while the weight of the sins of the world bought him to his knees. A person was ordered to carry the cross to the place meant too shame Jesus in the most public place for all passersby to see Him suffer and die—as a criminal.  He could have called ten thousand angels to rescue Him—but He did not. Buying us back by taking the punishment we deserved to pay the sin debt so we could reconcile with God in relationship was too important—a matter of life in eternity with us!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 

It is Jesus, alone, who sets us free to have a wonderful, relentlessly loving relationship with God!  Sins gone “as far as the east is from the west”.  Sins erased “to be remembered no more”.  We are free to love God back without anything or anyone standing between us and our God.

Simply stated: We sin. God made a Way we can return to a loving relationship with Him through Jesus. But it is still our choice to accept the gift of God, repent and be saved by the blood of the Lamb.  There is no one like our God! 

What kind of love is this?  I’m still trying to understand the depth and fullness of God’s love for us; but I choose to love Him back because He first loved me.  I accept His gift of salvation and believe in the love He has for me. I pray that others will know Him through these writings. I will proclaim this love as long as I have breath on earth!  To God be the glory, honor, and praise!  I love you, Lord, with all my heart, all my mind, and all my soul.  Continue to teach me to love like you love me.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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GOD IS JUST—HIS JUSTICE WILL REIGN FOREVER!

Posted on September 26, 2026 by randscallawayffm

If we truly believe what God says to be really real then I wonder why we cower when we are mocked for faith living and made to feel “less than” by the arrogant?  If we believe that God is the Supreme Judge over all His creation and Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords, assigned by God to this position after returning to heaven as the Redeemer of our souls, then truly “Whom then shall we fear?”

We remember now what David wrote in a previous psalm of praise to God;

The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

4 One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.          Psalm 27:1-5

What David sought; God provided to all of us through Jesus, Our Deliverer!

We are joint heirs with Jesus when we say yes to Him in surrender. God’s justice was done at the cross, depriving evil of its bonded hold on us, with deliverance from our sins by His Son, Jesus!  The more we read and believe; the more we realize that God’s justice is for all who believe, repent, and live for Jesus.  (John 3:16-17) What God desires for us, the prophet Amos declared; “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” The people of Amos’ day had no reverence or regard for God. Their offerings and sacrifices were given from hearts far from God as they continued in their sins of idolatry worship with insane, wild parties.  It did not go well with them then and sin does not go well with us now.  Sin cannot be a part of a human created by God “in His own image”.  Sin doesn’t fit.

That’s why God’s justice is so powerful, like a mighty river, that rolls over the enemy’s obstacles likened to a giant river that powerfully rolls over the rocks and ridges underneath as if they were pebbles and sand.  God’s justice cleanses humbled, repentant hearts completely, by washing away all our sins “just as if” they never occurred. Wow!  “This is how Israel tells it—

Psalm 129, The Message

A song of ascents.

1-4 “They’ve kicked me around ever since I was young”
    —this is how Israel tells it—
“They’ve kicked me around ever since I was young,
    but they never could keep me down.
Their plowmen plowed long furrows
    up and down my back;
But God wouldn’t put up with it,
    he sticks with us.
Then God ripped the harnesses
    of the evil plowmen to shreds.”

5-8 Oh, let all those who hate Zion
    grovel in humiliation;
Let them be like grass in shallow ground
    that withers before the harvest,
Before the farmhands can gather it in,
    the harvesters get in the crop,
Before the neighbors have a chance to call out,
    “Congratulations on your wonderful crop!
    We bless you in God’s name!”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

What a mighty God we love and serve!  What a gracious, loving, compassionate Judge we stand in in front of with a healthy fear and awe because of how powerful He is against the Enemy.  We face skirmishes daily with the Evil one who continues to tempt the faithful with obstacles thrown in our walk with God. But we have the resurrection power of God who lives in us to overcome!

Here’s why, ICYMI!  It is Almighty God who sent His Son from heaven to earth to seek the lost.  His work from God was to redeem us by willingly and obediently lay down His life for ours, as a perfect without sin sacrifice to set us free from our sins. The Lamb of God became the ultimate, once and for all, Sacrifice for all the sins of the world.  We need only to repent to be saved and set free! 

From the cross to the grave, Jesus paid it all but there was still more to come!  God always finishes what He starts.  On the Third Day of laying in death; God’s final blow to His Enemy was delivered when He resurrected Jesus from death to life!   

After “kicking around the King of kings”, Jesus rose from the grave to greet His followers alive and well, scars and all!  The women who went were shocked to see the grave empty and terrified of where they took the Body of their Lord.  “He is not here, he has risen, just as He said…Remember…” (See Luke 24) Jesus first words to his devoted, beloved, when they saw Him alive and well, were, “Don’t be afraid, it’s Me; now, go and tell the others!”  Justice had been served by the One and only Judge with all authority to make freedom happen—He delivered us!  Because “God wouldn’t put up with it”, the ravages of sin and death, all the chains and harnesses of sin were broken at the cross! 

The Psalmist recalls Israel’s long suffering. From the time Israel was enslaved in Egypt to their current circumstance; they have suffered much at the hands of hostile nations who oppose God. Yet their enemies have not succeeded in their efforts to destroy Israel; not do they hold God’s people permanently in bondage.

God watches over Israel and is faithful even when most are not faithful to Him.  The Enemy “withers like grass that sprouts on the flat, sunbaked housetops and “where no plow can prepare a nurturing soil to sustain the young shoots”—so there is no harvest. These curses are not retaliation for a personal slight but rather a desire for judgment against God’s enemies.

Our response?  We should acknowledge the true injustice in the world and long for God’s redeeming and redemptive work to overturn and overcome it all! Trust God who is The Judge who will make it happen in ways we cannot now dream or imagine.  But He will.  Trust Him.

And all God’s people said, “I trust you, Jesus.”

Lord,

You have given us insight by Your Holy Spirit that beckons us to go deeper in our knowledge and faith in You no matter what is happening around us.  You have certainly no given up your authority to the limited powers of evil. I believe. I’m listening for you.  The One Thing that I seek is all of you dwelling in all of me.  Cleanse me, renew my mind, refresh my soul, and restore the joy and peace of your salvation at work within me knowing you are at work in all others as well.  To you be all glory, honor, and praise!

In Jesus Name, Amen

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TRUST IN GOD—THE SOURCE OF BLESSED ASSURANCE!

Posted on September 25, 2026 by randscallawayffm

What if we poured ALL our entire being into a focused, concentrated effort to deeply trust in God, our Savior, the One who is able and never fails in His promises, especially in the promise to be with us ALWAYS! 

What if our trust went so deep, beyond the surface, that we change the way we think about God.  What if our trust grew to fully possessing that blessed assurance that we sing of at church when we worship together?  What if our commitment to trust Jesus became a habit to solidified our foundation of faith, trust, and dependance on God for all things that bless and challenge us?  What if our trust is birthed is habits of gratitude and praise for God, the One who nothing is impossible to accomplish, the One and Only who truly loves us so much He sent His Son to die for our sins while we were yet sinners?  What if we completely believe that God really loves and desires to be in all details of our lives!  Let’s pause to praise with full trust in God who created us in His own image and knew us before we were born!  Let us take in what God wants us to know…

“If each of My children would seek to please Me above all else, fear of others’ judgements would vanish, as would attempts to impress others.  Focus your attention on the path just ahead of you and on the One who never leaves your side.” –Jesus Calling by Sarah Young (Scripture references: Psalm 23:4, Matthew 7:1-2, Proverbs 29:25)

Pause to praise—

Psalm 128, The Message

A song of ascents.


1-2 All you who fear God, how blessed you are!
    how happily you walk on his smooth straight road!
You worked hard and deserve all you’ve got coming.
    Enjoy the blessing! Soak in the goodness!

3-4 Your wife will bear children as a vine bears grapes,
    your household lush as a vineyard,
The children around your table
    as fresh and promising as young olive shoots.
Stand in awe of God’s Yes.
    Oh, how he blesses the one who fears God!

5-6 Enjoy the good life in Jerusalem
    every day of your life.
And enjoy your grandchildren.
    Peace to Israel!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Trust God; He knows what He is doing!

“‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His Word;

Just to rest upon His promise, and to know, ‘thus saith the Lord.’”

Pause to thank God for His blessings—

“Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him! How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for grace to trust him more!”

(‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus, Composed by Louisa Stead, 1882)

Lord,

Oh, how you have blessed me this morning by Your Word of Truth and by Your Holy Spirt who led me to Truth.  I love you, Lord, with ALL my heart, ALL my mind, and ALL my soul.  I’ll be looking for your acts of greatness all day long and give you praise as you walk before, beside, and behind me, surrounding my whole being, from the inside out and outside in, with your blessed assurance!  Lead me, Lord.  You have all my trust!

In Jesus Name, Amen

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